Chapter X

Legal Liability

Article 108 Where any relevant department of the State Council, local people's government at or above the county level in the Yellow River Basin and its relevant department, the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agency, or the Yellow River Basin Eco-Environmental Supervision and Administration Authority, in violation of the provisions of this Law,  commits any of the following acts, the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be given sanctions such as warnings, demerits, serious demerits or demotions; where serious consequences are caused, the violators shall be given the sanction of removal from office or dismissal, and the principal leaders shall take the responsibility and resign:

     (1) granting an administrative license where the requirements for the license are not met;

     (2) failing to make a decision on suspension of business or closure which shall have been made in accordance with the law;

     (3) failing to investigate and deal with an illegal act after discovering it or receiving a report in accordance with the law; or

     (4) any other act of dereliction of duty, abuse of power, or engaging in malpractice for personal gain.

Article 109 Where any of the following acts is committed in violation of the provisions of this Law, the department in charge of ecology and environment, the department in charge of natural resources, and other departments under the local people's governments shall, according to the division of duties, order the illegal act to be stopped, the illegal building or structure to be removed, or the original state to be restored within a prescribed time limit, and a fine of not less than RMB 500,000 yuan but not more than RMB 5,000,000 yuan shall be imposed; the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be fined not less than RMB 50,000 yuan but not more than RMB 100,000 yuan. Where the violator fails to dismantle the illegal building or structure, or make the original state restored within the prescribed time limit, the relevant departments shall remove the building or structure or restore the original state on behalf of the violator, and all expenses incurred thereby shall be borne by the violator. Where the circumstances are serious, the relevant project shall be ordered to close down with the approval of the people's government with the authority:

    (1) constructing or expanding chemical parks and chemical projects within the control scopes from the shorelines of the main stream and tributaries of the Yellow River;

    (2) constructing, reconstructing, or expanding tailings ponds within the control scopes from the shorelines of the main stream or important tributaries of the Yellow River; or

    (3) engaging in production and construction in violation of ecological and eco-environmental permit lists.

Article 110 Where an entity or individual, in violation of the provisions of this Law, reclaims land in the Yellow River Basin for crop cultivation on a slope which is so steep that the land reclamation is forbidden, the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level, or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall order the violator to cease the illegal act and take remedial measures such as returning the reclaimed land to its original state or restoring vegetation, and impose a fine of not more than RMB 100 yuan per square meter of the reclaimed land on the entity or a fine of not more than RMB 20 yuan per square meter on the individual for the reclaimed land.

Where a warping dam in the Yellow River Basin is damaged or occupied without authorization in violation of the provisions of this Law,

the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level, or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall order the violator to cease the illegal act, to take control or to take remedial measures within a prescribed time limit, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 1 million yuan on the violator. Where the violator fails to take control or take remedial measures within the prescribed time limit, the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level, or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall take control or take remedial measures on behalf of the violator, and all expenses incurred thereby shall be borne by the violator.

Where an entity or individual, in violation of the provisions of this Law, carries out a production and construction activity in the Yellow River Basin, which has caused soil erosion, if the soil erosion fails to be controlled or the control fails to meet the relevant standards prescribed by the state, the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level, or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall order the entity or individual to control the soil erosion within a prescribed time limit, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 20,000 yuan but not more than RMB 200,000 yuan on the entity, and may impose a fine of not more than 20,000 yuan on the individual. Where the violator fails to control the soil erosion within the prescribed time limit, the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level, or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall control the soil erosion on behalf of the violator, and all expenses incurred thereby shall be borne by the violator.

Article 111 Where the ecological water allocation is not incorporated into the operation rules for a water project on the main stream or an important tributary of the Yellow River in violation of the provisions of this Law, the relevant departments shall, according to the division of duties, order the violator to make rectification, give a warning to the violator, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 yuan but not more than RMB 100,000 yuan on the violator; where the circumstances are serious, the fine imposed shall be not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan.

Article 112 Whoever, in violation of the provisions of this Law, carries out the fishing of natural fishery resources in the key waters in the Yellow River Basin during the closed fishing seasons, shall be punished by confiscation of the catch and the illegal income as well as the fishing vessels, fishing gears and other tools used in the illegal activities, and be imposed a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 yuan but not more than RMB 50,000 yuan by the department in charge of agriculture and rural affairs under the local people's government at or above the county level; where the fishing is carried out by electrocuting, poisoning fish, and blast fishing, or where there are other serious circumstances, a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan shall be imposed.

Whoever, in violation of the provisions of this Law, breeds and releases alien species and other germplasm resources of non-native species in the open waters in the Yellow River Basin, shall be ordered to recapture them within a prescribed time limit and be fined not more than RMB 100,000 yuan by the department in charge of agriculture and rural affairs under the local people's government at or above the county level; where serious consequences are caused, a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 1 million yuan shall be imposed on the violator. Where the violator fails to recapture them within the prescribed time limit, the department in charge of agriculture and rural affairs under the local people's government at or above the county level shall recapture them on behalf of the violator or take measures to reduce the negative impact, and all expenses incurred thereby shall be borne by the violator.

Whoever, in violation of the provisions of this Law, uses net cages, seine nets or river-blocking nets for aquaculture in the reservoir areas of the Sanmen Gorge, Xiaolangdi, Guxian, Luhun, and Hekou Village, thus obstructing water and sediment control and flood control, shall be ordered to cease the illegal act and remove the net cages, seine nets or river-blocking nets, and be fined not more than RMB 100,000 yuan by the department in charge of agriculture and rural affairs under the local people's government at or above the county level; where serious consequences are caused, a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 1 million yuan shall be imposed.

Article 113 Whoever, in violation of the provisions of this Law, withdraws water without approval or withdraws water not in compliance with the conditions specified in the water withdrawal permit, shall be ordered to cease the illegal act and to take remedial measures within a prescribed time limit, as well as be fined not less than RMB 50,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan by the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies; where the circumstances are serious, the water withdrawal permit shall be revoked.

Article 114 Where a water-use entity in the Yellow River Basin or in a relevant county-level administrative area in other regions relying on the Yellow River for water supply located in the provinces and autonomous regions through which the Yellow River flows, in violation of the provisions of this Law, uses water in excess of its quotas for water consumption and fails to implement water-saving technological transformation within a prescribed time limit, the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall order the entity to make rectification within a prescribed time limit and may impose a fine of not more than RMB 100,000 yuan; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan shall be imposed and the water withdrawal permit shall be revoked.

Article 115 Where an entity in the Yellow River Basin or in a relevant county-level administrative area in other regions relying on the Yellow River for water supply located in the provinces and autonomous regions through which the Yellow River flows withdraws water in excess of the certain water withdrawal amount and fails to install online metering facilities, the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall order the entity to install online metering facilities within a prescribed time limit, charge relevant fees based on its maximum daily capacity of water withdrawal, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 20,000 yuan but not more than RMB 100,000 yuan on it; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan shall be imposed and the water withdrawal permit shall be revoked.

Where, in violation of the provisions of this Law, the online metering facilities are unqualified or do not operate normally, the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall order the violator to replace or repair such facilities within a prescribed time limit; where the violator fails to replace or repair such facilities within the prescribed time limit, the relevant fees shall be charged based on its maximum daily capacity of water withdrawal and a fine of not more than RMB 50,000 yuan shall be imposed; where the circumstances are serious, the water withdrawal permit shall be revoked.

Article 116 Whoever, in violation of the provisions of this Law, withdraws deep groundwater for agricultural irrigation in the Yellow River Basin, shall be ordered to make a rectification within a prescribed time limit and may be fined not more than RMB 100,000 yuan by the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan shall be imposed, and the water withdrawal permit shall be revoked.

Article 117 Where a reservoir management entity in the Yellow River Basin, in violation of the provisions of this Law, fails to execute the instructions on water and sediment control given by the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority, the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall order it to make rectification, give it a warning, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 20,000 yuan but not more than RMB 100,000 yuan on it; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan shall be imposed; sanctions shall be given to the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons in accordance with the law.

Article 118 Where any of the following acts is committed in violation of the provisions of this Law, the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall order the violator to cease the illegal act, to dismantle the illegal building or structure or to restore it to the original state within a prescribed time limit, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 yuan but not more than RMB 500,000 yuan; and where the violator fails to dismantle the illegal building or structure or to restore it to the original state within a prescribed time limit, the department in charge of water resources under the local people's government at or above the county level or the Yellow River Basin Administrative Authority and its subordinate administrative agencies shall dismantle the building or structure or restore it to the original state on behalf of the violator, and all expenses incurred thereby shall be borne by the violator:

    (1) constructing any building or structure that blocks flood channels or conducting any activity that affects the stability of river regimes or endangers the safety of river banks or dikes, or otherwise blocks flood channels within the management range of rivers and lakes;

    (2) illegally using or occupying waters and shorelines of rivers and lakes in the Yellow River Basin;

    (3) constructing projects and facilities which cross over or go through rivers, or cross dikes or border on rivers, thus reducing the capacity of flood channels and water storage or diminishing water areas, and failing to construct equivalent substitute projects or take other functionally remedial measures; or

    (4) occupying the alternate seaward flow paths of the Yellow River.

Article 119 Whoever, in violation of the provisions of this Law, causes damage to others by damaging natural resources and the ecology, polluting the environment, undermining flood control capacity, or destroying cultural heritage in the Yellow River Basin, shall bear tortious liability in accordance with the law.

If any violation of the provisions of this Law damages the ecology and environment in the Yellow River Basin, the authorities specified by the state or organizations specified by the law shall have the right to request the infringer to bear the liability for restoration, compensate for the losses, and pay the relevant expenses.

Article 120 Where any violation of the provisions of this Law constitutes a crime, the violator shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law.

Chapter XI

Supplementary Provisions

Article 121 For purposes of this Law, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

    (1) The term "main stream of the Yellow River" refers to the main stem of the Yellow River (including the seaward flow paths) from the headwaters to the estuary of the Yellow River, which flows through Qinghai Province, Sichuan Province, Gansu Province, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shanxi Province, Shaanxi Province, Henan Province, and Shandong Province.

    (2) The term "tributaries of the Yellow River" refers to the rivers that directly or indirectly flow into the main stream of the Yellow River, and they can be divided into primary and secondary tributaries, among others.

    (3) The term "important tributaries of the Yellow River" refers to primary tributaries, including the Huangshui, Taohe River, Zuli River, Qingshui River, Dahei River, Huangfuchuan, Kuye River, Wuding River, Fenhe River, Weihe River, Yiluo River, Qinhe River, and Dawen River, among others.

    (4) The term "floodplain areas of the Yellow River" refers to the floodplain land within the management range of the river courses in the Yellow River Basin, which has the functions of flood channels, flood detention, and sediment trapping and where people live and farm for historical reasons.

Article 122 This Law shall come into force as of April 1, 2023.